Door-holder.



No. 726,626'. RATRNTRO ARR. ze, 1903.; T. W.. .BRITTINOHAM DOOR HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. Z7, 1902.

N0 MODI-1B. 2 SHEETS-SHEET L I 4 A alum' l I l l No. 726.626. Y PATBNTED APR. 28', L 1903.

- T. W. BRITTINGHAM.

DOOR HOLDER.

A1 1=L10ATI0N FILED oo'L'I. 1902.

No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

- nl HN! 1 manici UNITE l STATES PATENT Orricn.

THOMAS W. BRITTINGHAM, OF HAMPTON, VIRGrIltlIA.

DOOR-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,626, dated April 28, 1903. Application filed October 27, 1902. Serial No 128.978. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: n

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. BRITTING- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hampton,in the county of Elizabeth City and State of Virginia, have'invented'certain new and useful Improvementsin Door-Holders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. f

This invention relates to a supporting device for clamping and holding doors in correct position to enable the door-hinges to be conveniently fitted and applied or to enable the edges of the door to be trimmed as required to t the doorway.

The object of the invention is to provide a door holding and ysu pporting device which au"- tomatically clamps an d releases the'door u pon the latter being brought into contact therewith and raised therefrom and which is foldable, so as to be packed and stored in close compass.

With this and other objects in view the in'- l vention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described, and the appendedv particularly pointed `out inA claims. p

In the accompanying drawings', Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one endof a door supported loya door-holder embodying my invention. Fig.` 2 is a longit'udinalfsection through one of thebars andthe adjustable clamping-jaw of the holder on the irregular line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a-bottom plan view of the holder, showing in full and broken lines the end pieces closed and opened. Fig; 4 is a side elevation showing the holderfol'd-y ed for storage or transportation. Fig. 5 is a side elevation and partial section illustrating a modification. ,l Fig. Gis a bottom plan view showing a further modification. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. Sis a cross-section on line 8 8 of Fig. 7.

The frame of the door holder'or support comprises a pair' of bars 1` and'f 2," arranged end to end and united at theirinner ends by a strap-hinge 3, one of the leaves of which is provided with a longitudinal slot 4. These bars are adapted to be normally held in an inclined position, with their inner ends projected upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, by a spring 5, consisting of a bail-shaped piece of .spring-wire having its return portion or bend seated in a groove or slot 6 on the underside of the bar 2 and retained in position by the underlying leaf of the hinge and its free end movably retained in position by eyes or guide pieces 7, applied tothe bar 1. Normallythis spring exerts pressure to force the inner ends of the bars upwardly, thus holding them in.

an inclined position, and when reverse pressure from.above is applied to the bars the free ends of thel springs 'slide longitudinally in the guide 7, allowing the meeting ends of the bars to come Itogether-and the upper surfaces of the bars to be brought to al horizontal plane in accurate alinement.

" To the upper surfaces of the barsare applied clamping-jaws 8 and 9, whieh inthe construction shown in'Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, are respectively made adjustable and stationary on the bars 1 and 2, the iaw 9 being fixed 'in' any preferred manner to the bar 2, while the jaw 8 is provided with a screwthreaded socket 10 to receive an adjustingscrew 11, mounted at its outer end in a bearing-bracket 12, suitably secured to said bar 1 'and formed or provided with a head or adjusting disk'or wheel 13 to enable it to be operated to adjust the jaw 8 toward and from the jaw 9. Through the jaw 8 extends a bolt 14, whichprojects downward through a slot -15 in the bar l1 and through the alined slot 4 in the underlying strap ofV thev hinge 3"and has its head bearing against the under side of said strap, whereby the jaw is held from upwardy movement and the bolt is made longitu'dinally adjustable on the bar 1. A nut '16 is applied to the upper end of the bolt, which projects above the jaw 8, and by means of this nut the jaw after having been adjusted to the desired position relative to the jaw 9 may be firmly clamped against movement.

Arranged upon the outer ends of the bars 1 and 2 are end pieces 17 and 18,' each of which is mounted upon a pivot 19 upon its respective bar, so asl to be swung at rightA angles to the bar, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, to support the holder, or parallel withthe bar, as shown in Fig. 4, to enable the holder to be folded in close compass for storage or IOC transportation. Each bar is provided with a latch for holding the end piece at right angles thereto to serve as a support, the said latch consisting of a piece ofspring-wire fixed at one end in a groqye or slot 2O therein and provided at its outer end with a handpiece 2l, and between the same and its fixed end with a shoulder 22 and an inclined portion 23, the said handpiece and shoulder serving to form a socket or receptacle for the end piece when the latter is swung to a position at right angles to the bar. Assuming that the end piece of the bar is disposed in parallel relation to the bar, as shown in Fig. 4, it will be apparent that upon swinging this end piece outward in one direction the inner end thereof will first come in contact with the inclined portion 23 of thespring'and depress the same into the slot 20, allowing the end piece to be swung outward to a position at right angles to the bar, at which point it will come between the handpiece 21 and the shoulder 22, whereupon the spring being no longer restrained will be projected out of the groove or slot and engage the end piece between the said handpiece and shoulder, thereby locking the same in supporting position. When it is desired to fold the end piece, the handpiece 2l is pressed inward to force the latch into the groove or slot 2O and retract the shoulder 22, whereupon the end piece may be swung inward to a position parallel to the bar, as shown in Fig. 4. Each end piece is provided on its under side with bearing portions 24, preferably consisting of tips or disks of rubber, which are adapted to come in direct contact with the floor and hold the doorsupport against movement. Then the bars l and 2 are forced down in the manner hereinafter described to clamp the door resting thereon, these bearing portions 24 are brought from an inclined to a horizontal position in direct contact with the floor-surface and eX- ert a binding action thereon to hold the support from shifting in an obvious manner.

In the operation of the invention two or more door -holders of the construction described are employed and are arranged at suitable distances apart upon the floor. The door is then adjusted in position with the side which is to receive the hinges uppermost, and the opposite side is brought into contact with the bars at their point of junction between the clamps 8 and 9 and allowed to move downward, the weight of the door serving to depress the bars l and 2 against the resistance of the spring 5, whereby the clamps 8 and 9 are brought in position to clamp the door on opposite sides, thus supporting the same in an upright position against movement, so as to enable the carpenter or workman to have ready access to the hinging edge thereof for setting and applying the hinges. By means of the adjustable fastenings of the jaw 8 the latter may be adjusted as desired to adapt the device for use in connection with doors of different thicknesses. The jaws may be provided with rubber facings S 9' to prevent injury to the door. ,j y

In the construction shown in Fig. 5 each jaw is made adjustable after the manner of the jaw 8 in Figs. l to 4, inclusive, and a different form and arrangement of spring is employed for normally holding the bars in an inclined position. As shown, the inner or meeting ends of the bars are recessed or socketed 'to receive an interconnecting spiral spring 25, which exerts pressure in opposite directions to force the free ends of the bars apart, and thereby to normally maintain the said i bars in an inclined position, the spring being depressed by the downward movement of the bars under the weight of the door to bring the jaws into clamping engagement with the sides of the door.

In the modification shownin Figs. 6, 7, and S the hinge 3 is composed of a bowed platespring, one end of which is fixed to the bar 2 and the opposite or free end thereof provided with an upwardly-projecting internallythreaded eye or nut 2G, which fits and slides within a longitudinal slot 27 in the bar 2 and receives the threaded end of an adjusting screw or shaft 28, which is loosely mounted in the bore or slot 27 and by the adjustment of which the bar 2 may be moved toward and from the bar l to regulate the distance bctween the clamping-jaws 8 and 9. It will be seen that by this construction when pressure is applied to the inner ends of bars l and 2 under the weight of the door the downward movement of said bars will straighten out the spring 3', and the nut 2G and adjusting screw or shaft 2S will slide longitudinally in the bore or slot 27 to compensate therefor and allow the bars to fall to a horizontal position to bring the clamping-jaws into engagement with the sides of the door. Upon the door being elevated the spring 3' will then become bowed or distended to project the bars to an inclined position, thereby throwing the jaws 8 and 9 out of engagement with the door, allowing the latter to be readily released.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. l to a, inclusive, the holder is rendered foldable by the mode of mounting the spring 5, the free ends of which slide in the guides 7, allowing the spring to come between the two bars 1 and 2 when the latter are folded back to back, as shown in Fig. 4:, and when this has been done and the end pieces 17 are swung to a position parallel with the two hars the device will be folded upon itself in close storage for packing or transportation.

The construction shown in Fig. 5 permits of the folding of the holder by swinging the two bars inward in a direction away from the clamps S and 9 until the spring 25 projects from one of the sockets, whereupon a continued movement of the bars will bring them together in an obvious manner. In the construction shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 the device may be folded by either detaching the fixed end of the spring from the bar 2 or dis- IOO IIO

engaging the screw or shaft 28, so as to allow the nut 26 to be withdrawn from the slot or guideway 27, whereupon the parts of the device may be arrangetlin parallel relation and tied or otherwise suitably secured.

It will be seen that in one form of the invention I have shown a connection between the two hars which of itself serves the dual purpose of a spring and hinge and that-,in the other constructions I have disclosed the use of a hinge in connection with an independent f spring; but it is understood that while the latter construction is deemed preferable for obvious reasons still the two constructions are regarded, broadly, as equivalents, and hence that the term spring-hinge employed in the appended claims is to be regardedas covering each and every one of the several forms shown and equivalent constructions. f

As stated, the holders may not only be used for holdingdoors for the application of hinges, but also to enable the edges of doors to be trimmed t0 properly fit doorways.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the inven-v tion will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any, of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of two hinged sections,

having its free ends sliding in said guides on the one section and having its ret-urn portion seated in a groove inthe other section and retained in position by the hinge, substantially as described. `f`

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of sections provided on their upper surfaces with clamping-jaws, one of said jaws being adjustable, a leaf-hinge applied to the under sides of said sections and hingedly connecting the same, one of said sections and the underlying leaf of the hinge being provided with registering longitudinal slots, a clamping-bolt sliding in said slots and connected to the adjustable jaw, guides upon one section, and bail-spring having its free ends sliding in said guides on the one section and having its return portion seated in a groove inthe other section and retained in y position by the hinge, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- IIOSSBS.

THOMAS W. BRITTINGHAM. Witnesses:

M. O. LACKEY, Tiros. M. BRAINARD. v 

